


To make you feel safe and sound

by Wild_things_in_wicked_walls



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Social Anxiety, This is so cliché but i had fun so why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29253726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wild_things_in_wicked_walls/pseuds/Wild_things_in_wicked_walls
Summary: "'Did you need something?' His voice was as, if not more, unimpressed as his look, and was it Tetsurou’s fault if he was attracted to guys who didn’t give a shit about him and wouldn’t even look him in the eyes?"Or-Kenma is an anxious mess and Kuroo is a sweetheart. (But what's new?)
Relationships: Kozume Kenma & Kuroo Tetsurou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99
Collections: read stories





	To make you feel safe and sound

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I actually wrote a College AU/Coffee shop AU and a fic without any angst. It's literally the opposite of what I usually write and who I am as a person. Then again, it's probably why I had so much fun writing it. I just hope it's not too cliché ahah
> 
> TW: Kenma almost has a panic attack at some point? It's just hinted but I'd rather not trigger anyone.
> 
> English is not my first language, sorry if there are any mistakes. Also, it's 2.39 am right now so there might be typos lmao
> 
> Enjoy!

> "I contemplate the words  
>  To make you feel safe and sound  
>  Waiting on the weekend  
>  I'm waiting on the weekend"
> 
> Yungblud (Waiting on the weekend)

There was a place Kenma enjoyed staying at when he didn’t feel like or didn’t have the time in between classes to go back to his tiny studio apartment, half an hour from his college campus.

It was a small café cramped in between two huge science buildings and far from the university’s main entrance and cafeteria which were usually bustling with people. That meant that it was far less visited and the students that were regulars there seemed a lot calmer and a lot less preoccupied by other people’s business than in the other cafés around campus.

Kenma liked that.

Sure, a more frequented place meant being more invisible, but it also meant a lot of noise, chatter and high-pitched laughter, loud phone calls and toppled cups of coffee, without mentioning the sempiternal cloud of stress and exhaustion that usually floated above any crowd of normally composed students. _That_ was bad for Kenma’s anxiety.

The thing was, Kenma didn’t know anyone. He’d had friends in high school, of course, like one or two, but none of them had gone to college with him, so he’d found himself lost in the middle of a huge campus, full of anonymous faces and anonymous lives that all looked like they belonged exactly there and didn’t have any space for his own tiny boring world. And Kenma was not about to carve that space for himself because what if he made a fool of himself at the first introduction? He was _not good_ at first introductions. And what if people accepted him into their circle just to find out that he was boring, lazy and awkward and overall just not a fun person to be around but couldn’t kick him out out of pity or-

See? That was why he had no friends and didn’t like to think about it. It always made him spiral, without a fail.

Because he was alone meant that he had to do ‘firsts’ on his own and that was terrifying. The first time he‘d gone grocery shopping. The first time he’d taken the subway. The first time he’d been to class. The first time he’d eaten on his own. All of these were experiences he’d had to go through on his own with shaking hands, a sweaty forehead and the impression that every eye in the room was following each and every of his movements.

So, to make these firsts (and all the times after that to be honest) easier to bear for his anxious mind, he’d started visualizing all the new places he had to go to on a regular basis on a virtual map in his head, like the maps at the beginning of video games that showed your improvements and all the levels you’d unlocked. The groceries? Unlocked. The subway? Unlocked. The class? Mostly unlocked (there were people there that he had common points with, so there was always the risk of someone doing something stupid and panic inducing, like trying to talk to him). The college canteen? Unlocked too. All those places formed more or less safe bubbles whose big boss he’d already defeated. There was more routine, less surprises.

However, it had taken him at least three weeks before daring to enter the café he passed by on a near daily basis when going to his IT classes. When he’d finally said _fuck it_ and done it, he’d found a nice and warm place with a constant smell of hot chocolate and flowers, furnished with four long wooden tables and a few littler individual ones around, a large counter drowned by a literal sea of house plants, and colorful paintings on the wall. The people that worked there were quiet and noninvasive, as were most regulars.

But what Kenma appreciated most and what determined him to go back during almost all of his breaks, was the incredibly fast internet connection and the fact that, as long as he ordered from time to time, they let him stay for as long as he wanted, not minding when he settled for hours to finish an assignment, a video game or a drawing (sometimes all of the above, considering he was majoring in game design).

All in all, Kenma was alone and lonely, anxious and probably a bit depressed, but somehow fine. He had a routine, thanks to his parents he had enough money to rent a studio and eat properly (well at least he had the ability to, whether he actually did or not was his problem), he liked what he studied… He was fine. Not great, but fine. Now he just needed to keep it that way.

Of course, the universe had other plans for him, and it all started on a busy day at the coffee shop, the kind that Kenma hated because it made him sit at the large common tables and sometimes even interact with people.

***

Kuroo Tetsurou was _tired_. It wasn’t like it was unusual for his science-nerd-perfectionist-student ass, but midterms were slowly but inexorably approaching and he was _tired_ and _stressed_.

He’d been mostly locked inside his dormitory room, cramming for his exams (even though _they are three weeks from now, you’re crazy bro_ , Bokuto had been repeating him) and stuffing his head with complicated formulas and words that were way too long for anyone to actually expect students to be able to pronounce them, let alone write them. Yet there he was. Bokuto had ended up kicking him out when he’d almost had a breakdown over pairs of socks that _couldn’t fucking stay as pairs, what the fuck_ \- and yeah, it had probably been a good thing. Tetsurou would have to apologize to his roommate for screaming at him, even though he knew Bokuto wasn’t mad at him. He was a good bro like that. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to go out with him, so Tetsurou had just decided to walk around, get some fresh air and maybe meet a few new people because that never failed to cheer him up.

Tetsurou loved socializing, but he loved even more meeting someone for the first time -not necessarily in the romantic way- and the first moments that came with getting to know them. In high school, he was known as a provocateur, but that wasn’t something he did on purpose, at least mostly, he just genuinely loved reading people and guessing what they liked and what pushed their button. It was exciting. Also, if they managed to stick around despite how much of an asshole he seemed to be, then that meant they’d be good friends. Needless to say, Tetsurou didn’t have many good friends.

At some point during his walk through the endless maze of the university’s corridors, he realized he was kind of lost. He knew he was in the science buildings, those were his favorite after all, but he’d never been to that part. He soon found the exit door, however, and ended up somewhere between two of the buildings. There, overshadowed by the science department, was one of the college’s coffee shop, but one he’d never seen before. It looked small and cozy, so he thought, _why not_.

Surprisingly enough, it was packed with people. Well, Tetsurou guessed that considering the size of the café you could hardly call it overpopulated but it sure was full. Every individual table was taken and the large wooden tables that occupied the center of the room barely had any place left. Which, all in all, was good for Tetsurou’s plans, because packed as they were, it would seem more awkward not to speak to anyone than to talk to random strangers, and for once he wouldn’t be taken for a weirdo. Maybe.

(After all, he couldn’t help it if his hair made him look like a weirdo no matter what, and no, he didn’t house sentient life in there, thank you very much.)

He spotted a free spot at one of the tables and awkwardly slipped his tall body in the ridiculously thin space between the tables (it was honestly discriminating towards tall and muscular people, and fat people now that he thought about it) while muttering ‘sorry’ every other second. He finally reached the spot, which was right next to a (relatively) short guy with a terrible dye job, hunched over a computer and a small graphic tablet, wearing headphones and squinting at the tiny details he was working on.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” Tetsurou asked, hoping it wasn’t. He couldn’t really see the guy’s face but he seemed cute, with his worn out, too big hoodie, his brown roots and his long thin hands.

He waited for a few seconds before realizing two things. First, he looked like an idiot, just standing there waiting for an answer that was apparently not coming, and second, he’d apparently chosen the only person in the whole café who very obviously didn’t give a fuck about what was going on around him. That was just great.

He still needed to know if he could sit there, though, so he poked lightly at the pudding head’s arm.

Who. Absolutely. Jumped.

Tetsurou saw the guy’s cup fly in slow motion, but, thanks to his volleyball reflexes, managed to catch it before it could create a mess on the floor. However, he spilled half of it on his shirt. Once again, great.

Maybe leaving his room was a bad idea in the end.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!” He still apologized because, well, he didn’t just go around spilling people’s cups even if he was the one being stained.

The blond guy looked overwhelmed for a second, like someone talking to him then spilling his coffee was too much information to take at once. His attitude betrayed how flustered he was, his cheeks flushed, eyes too wide desperately avoiding his, and fingers clenching around his hoodie’s half-chewed laces.

Then he looked up and ‘oh no. I’m so fucked.’ was the only thing that went through Tetsurou’s head.

Pudding head had enormous golden eyes that ate half of his face and seemed both extremely intense, like they could see everything and through his soul, and fleeting, not really meeting Tetsurou’s eyes but staring at a spot right above them. Was it even legal to have such eyes? Probably not. It was like entering a whole other world, eerie, solely made of light, a thousand years old.

“It’s okay. Sorry I didn’t hear you.” Blondie’s voice was so low and quiet Tetsurou barely heard it, then he pointed at his headphones, still spilling out insanely loud metal music. (A cute, introverted guy who listened to metal? Yup, he was definitely a goner.)

“You know, you’re going to damage your eardrum if you listen to music so loud for too long.” Tetsurou chided, crossing his arms over his chest.

The guy just lifted an eyebrow, and wow that was very expressive, Tetsurou lost 10 years off his lifespan just being on the receiving end of that unimpressed reaction. But yeah, he should probably not act like a mother hen to someone he didn’t know; his friends already teased him enough about it as it is.

“Did you need something?” His voice was as, if not more, unimpressed as his look, and was it Tetsurou’s fault if he was attracted to guys who didn’t give a shit about him and wouldn’t even look him in the eyes?

It took him an embarrassingly long time to be able to produce a human sound again. “N-No, I just wanted to know if this seat is taken.”

“Ah, no, I’m not waiting for anyone.” Pudding head nodded slightly.

Tetsurou put his bag down and took his coat off. “Can I get you another drink? Since I kind of spilled the other one.”

The other ducked his head and hid behind his long hair, _and gods why was this so cute?_ , “I- I don’t know, I-”

“It’s okay,” Tetsurou smiled reassuringly, “I’m getting one for me too anyway.”

“Ah, thanks I guess.”

“Can I get your name? You know, to order.” Smooth, Tetsurou, smooth.

“I, uhm- My-” Blondie didn’t seem to think the same because he started spluttering and choking on nothing, so Tetsurou, worried about unintentionally causing someone’s death, hit him in the back. “I- I’m okay- I swear I know my name. It’s Kenma. Kozume Kenma.”

“And I’m Kuroo Tetsurou. Nice to meet you, Kenma.”

As he finally stood up to get the drinks, he thought _this guy is going to be the death of me_. Tetsurou didn’t even know he had a thing for awkward, anxious art nerds, but he guessed the ones who were the most reluctant to open up often hid the most interesting personalities. (Yes, that was coming from someone who was best friends with Bokuto, who would be incapable to keep a thing to himself if his life depended on it.)

***

Kenma was truly, absolutely, panicking. One second his only problem had been that he’d been drawing on the wrong layer for 5 whole minutes, then this really hot, really tall guy started talking to him and spilled his coffee, even touched him and just- Kenma wished it had been in the inappropriate way, because at least he would’ve been legally allowed to punch him in the face. But no! The rooster head imbecile even had to apologize for spilling his drink, though he’d been trying to catch it in the first place AND he’d been the one to get all the stains. Then he had to go and buy another one, leaving Kenma to panic and wonder _what the fuck does he want_? What an asshole. Also, Kenma had seriously almost chocked to death when that Kuro guy had asked him his name. What was that? Who even did that? Why couldn’t he act normally for once? Was his brain seriously that fucked up that it couldn’t help but self-sabotage in the worst kinds of way, in the worst kinds of situation?

Kenma wanted to curl up into a hole and just drop dead. Anything to spare himself the humiliation. Actually, he should probably stand up and just leave, but he was starting to feel his breath coming quicker and shallower and oh gods not now, please not now, he knew he was panicking but having an attack was not going to fix anything, but that was his life wasn’t it, digging a hole for himself and just digging deeper every time, and fuck- was it that hot a few seconds ago, he-

“Here are your drinks, enjoy!” the woman at the counter said, handing Kenma and Kuro’s drinks to the latter.

“Thanks, you too!” Kuro answered, loud and clear, and some people laughed at him. He seemed unaffected though, smiling and making his way back to Kenma, whose chest had stopped heaving for a second.

He gaped at the taller student, almost forgetting not to meet his eyes. “What was that?”

Kuro had a small lopsided smile and rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly. Why did he look more anxious now than when he was making a fool of himself just a few seconds ago?

“Well, you seemed kind of nervous so I figured I’d show you how awkward I can be too, so that you wouldn’t be too impressed by my dazzling looks.”

Kenma had to hide a smile behind his hair. This guy… such an asshole. Good thing two could play this game.

“You shouldn’t worry too much about this.” He deadpanned.

“Ouch,” Kuro laughed, “so the kitten _has_ claws!”

Kenma gave him the ‘ick face’, the one that haunted his friend Lev’s nightmares. Kuro just laughed harder. He kind of sounded like a dying hyena. It was somehow cute.

“You have the most expressive faces sometimes,” he smirked, “I would love to see that smile of yours not hidden behind your hair.”

That shut Kenma down a little. He hated it when people asked him to smile more or stop being so shy all the time. It was who he was, but he felt guilty when someone made him feel like he wasn’t appreciating them enough just because he didn’t smile as much as another one. It made him feel as though he wasn’t trying hard enough, as though he wasn’t enough for them.

“But we have all the time in the world.” Kuro concluded. “And if you don’t want to, then you don’t. I just feel like you must have a really nice smile.”

Could this guy get any sappier? The worst thing was, it was actually getting to him. Gross, so so gross.

“I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to stick around to find out.” Kenma wanted to die, he was getting sappy too. And what if he was misreading the situation? Maybe Kuro hadn’t been flirting, maybe he didn’t even want to see him again and now he was going to feel like he had to and-

“I guess I’ll have to.”

Kenma finally met his eyes, just for a second, before going back to staring a little higher. They were very warm. Fond. Smart. He thought he wouldn’t mind looking into those eyes a little longer.

Or a lot.

Who knew.

Maybe there were parts of the map he wouldn’t mind exploring that much.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is an accurate description of my first month in college, just without Kuroo Tetsurou, or any romance for that matter.  
> I hope you enjoyed, don't hesitate to leave kudos and/or comments, I'd really appreciate <3


End file.
